The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle at Art Genève
30th January, 2025 – 2nd February, 2025
Art Genève
At Palexpo
Genève
The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle (MBAL) is proud to announce its first participation in Art Genève, a prestigious art fair renowned as a key meeting point for international art collectors and enthusiasts in Switzerland. For the 13th edition of the fair, taking place from January 30 to February 2, 2025, MBAL will join other prominent institutions in presenting a unique exhibition.
MBAL has given carte blanche to artist Koenraad Dedobbeleer, who is set to have an exhibition at the museum in October 2025.
Drawing from the museum’s extensive collection of approximately 5,000 objects, including paintings, sculptures, applied art objects, as well as prints, posters, drawings, watercolours and photographs, the Belgian artist creates a rich dialogue between his own works and these pieces for Art Genève. Known for his playful reinterpretation of everyday objects, these serve as aesthetic and historical sources of inspiration for the artist.
“The MBAL is delighted to participate in the Art Geneve fair, an unmissable opportunity to share our curatorial research, which brings the museum’s collection into dialogue with contemporary artists. Koenraad Dedobbeleer’s ironic and metaphoric approach, which rethinks everyday objects in surprising ways, has always intrigued me, and I am thrilled to be able to present his work in our booth.” – Federica Chiocchetti, Director and Curator of the Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle (MBAL)
Intrigued by the world of manufacturing and industry, central to the history of Le Locle, Dedobbeleer has selected three works from the museum’s collection. Balancing precision craftsmanship, subtle rebellion and the scenographic prosthetics, the artist crafts a hybrid
and captivating installation that reimagines traditional roles of artist and artisan.
As part of this presentation, Federica Chiocchetti, director and curator of the MBAL, and artist Koenraad Dedobbeleer will host a conversation on February 1 (from 16h00 to 17h00) titled
Metamorphosis of a Collection. Federica Chiocchetti is also a member of the jury for the F.P. Journe Prize, which annually awards the best solo exhibition presented at the fair.
About Koenraad Dedobbeleer
Koenraad Dedobbeleer (born in Halle, Belgium, in 1975, lives and works in Brussels) creates sculptures, objects, site-specific installations and photographs that are full of associations, ironic commentary and references to art history. Winner of the Mies van der Rohe Prize in 2009,
he is also a curator and co-editor of the fanzine UP. The artist focuses on everyday objects, which he transforms and recontextualises. He employs techniques such as deconstruction
and manipulation to ensure that the changes in context and transformations of these common objects and motifs encourage the viewer to reflect on their fundamental nature and their existence within newly established frameworks. Their approach opens up new perspectives
and a range of possible interpretations. Koenraad Dedobbeleer describes his work as a multifaceted, open-ended experience, both in form and content, involving a non-scientific exploration of options.
About The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle (MBAL)
The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle (MBAL) is a leading institution in Switzerland with an international reputation, thanks to its innovative and accessible programming. The museum offers monographic and thematic exhibitions that broaden perspectives and bring together
art from the past and present, from here and elsewhere, by creating a dialogue between works from its collection and contemporary Swiss and international creations.
Located in the centre of Le Locle and established in 1862, the MBAL, with its beautiful Art Nouveau building renovated in 2014, offers 800 m2 of exhibition space and a virtual platform for digital art, ORBIT_E. The collection, which includes around 5,000 pieces ranging from paintings
and scriptures to works on paper by Swiss and international artists from the 17th century to the contemporary, features prestigious deposits, such as those from the Swiss Confederation and the Gottfried Keller Foundation. Since 2022, under the direction of curator and writer Federica Chiocchetti (PhD), the acquisition policy has focused on achieving gender parity, with a strong commitment to equality between men and women.
The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle will be at Art Genève from the 30th of January, 2025 until the 2nd of February, 2025
©2024 The Museum of Fine Arts Le Locle